Ring a Bell
by technicolortardis
Summary: They proudly walked different paths- she the path of the Champion as she stepped out from her father's shadow, and he the path of a Contest Star as he chased his dream of following in his father's footsteps.
1. Chapter 1

He hadn't made the best impression on her, even though he tried. His momentary show of rudeness, being offended she wasn't a boy, then trying to repair his mistake by offering to catch her a Pokemon (to impress her, he had to admit) had not gone over well with her. Still, she let it slide.

He, well, Brendan had a crush on her from the second he saw her, though he wasn't aware of it for the longest time. That was the reason for his initial rudeness and his attempts to impress her- his mouth spoke before his brain could think of things to say. He was more cautious in the future, resulting in much stuttering and blushing scarlet around her. Really he'd just made a fool out of himself, but May almost seemed endeared by it, or at least, she didn't mind.

When that girl had stolen his Key Stone, she'd been infuriated on his behalf and the next time he saw her, she had pressed his bracelet back into his hand and locked her gaze with his, informing him that he would never have to worry again. Then she'd smiled brightly and told him they had a date (something that caused him to blush and sputter until she said she was just teasing). They'd watched the Litleonoids together, sitting at opposite ends of the bench, Brendan blushing to himself and glancing at her. Her eyes were alight and he was far too nervous to move closer to her. She'd called it a date, and the word played over and over in his head despite the fact that she was only joking when she said it. It was that which made him realise that maybe he really fancied her (this and Lisia's teasing). After that day, he found he blushed and stammered more easily around her.

Right now Brendan was in Slateport, finishing a contest, swamped by fans expressing their gratitude for such a good show and complimenting him and his Pokemon. May had said she'd try and attend, but not to hold his breath because she would be in Petalburg on business with her dad ("And you know how Dad can be about work"). He was just starting to get disappointed when he heard her voice in his ear.

"I want to show you something," she said, appearing at his side out of nowhere, gripping his hand and pulling him along behind her. He let her do it, gazing at her in the moonlight. She released him when they got out onto Route 110 and were quite alone, the route opening up onto the starry sky above. She ran a little further after letting him go before turning to face him, clasping her hands behind her back and beaming with the brightness of the sun.

"Uh..." Brendan found he said that a lot around her. "What did you want to show me?"

She didn't answer, pulling a flute out of her bag. It was curiously shaped, but when she played it, it sounded much prettier than he'd thought. The tune she played was quite short, but she did a little hopping dance as she played.

(So cute...)

He was practically fascinated by his crush on her now he was aware of it. He watched her tuck the flute away, and hardly a moment later, a beautiful Pokemon approached her. Red as the brightest ruby with white as pure as clouds, a triangle blue as the sky on its chest. Latias. She climbed on her back and offered a hand to Brendan.

"Come on! I still haven't shown you the thing yet!"

"Uh..." Brendan was uneasy about heights. Latias gazed at him with calming gold eyes, and he found himself taking May's offered hand. He got on behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She smelled weirdly spicy for a girl, but he liked it. Every other girl smelled like flowers, it felt. Of course someone like May would be different.

He clung rather tightly to her when Latias took to the sky rather speedily. May moved and it was a moment before he realised she was Mega-Evolving Latias. As they rode her back.

"Brendan, you're safe, please stop crushing my intestines."

He felt his face turn red and he loosened his grip. "S-sorry."

"There," Latias steadied and levelled out in the air, but Brendan refused to open his eyes (when had he even closed them?). "Oh, come on! You can't see what I wanted to show you like that!"

The fact that she was clearly looking at him made him open his eyes. She had turned to look at him over one shoulder, her eyes shimmering in the starlight. Then he looked around.

Hoenn was beautiful from the air, even if he did have the ominous feeling he was going to fall off Latias to his death. What would his parents say if he just appeared, smushed in a crater?

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure they won't like me very much anymore," May said, laughing. "Though Mrs Birch might not mind having a Brendan-shaped spot in the garden to plant things in."

Oh, he'd spoken aloud. The blush returned.

"I don't know about that."

"Well, we can always ask. You can just lay in the grass, and we can draw a chalk outline. See how she likes it."

Brendan gave a nervous laugh now.

"Honey Lemon won't drop us. I promise," May rested her hand over his.

"Honey Lemon?"

She ran her hand along Latias' neck. "Honey Lemon."

Brendan rolled his eyes. "You're such a dork."

He instantly worried that he'd offended her, but she giggled. "She seems to like it. I like to think I'm very good at nicknaming my Pokemon."

"Oh yes," Brendan hugged her tighter as Latias began flying slowly around Hoenn. "Very."

"Adelaide is a perfectly good name."

"Adelaide is fine," he said. "It's Applesauce that makes me question your naming skills."

"What's wrong with Applesauce?"

"What's right with it? Ah!" he clung to her as Latias surged forward, twirling through the air. Brendan had tucked his head into her shoulder and his body tensed.

"Sorry!" May exclaimed. "I accidentally gave her the signal to do that. I'm so sorry, Brendan."

"Latiii!"

"She's sorry too... Automatic reation to a nonverbal command. We worked on it for so long, because it's so hard to be heard when you're going fast..."

Brendan relaxed slightly, but kept close to her. He was very, very aware of her hand resting over his. Latias had stopped in the air, waiting for Brendan to calm down. He declined being let back down on the ground. Latias closed her eyes and Brendan felt himself calming down. It was a moment before it dawned on him that she must be using her psychic energy to help him.

"Thanks," he mumbled, reaching around May to stroke the Pokemon's neck in gratitude. Latias replied by a gentle cooing sound.

"The sky looks amazing, too," May said, looking up. "It's so different up here than down below... and it's so different out there."

She was referring to her ride with Rayquaza, something Brendan still thought sounded like a really weird dream despite the fact that he knew full well it was the truth. May was just that amazing.

"I love it up here," May said. "I um... I'm sorry, Brendan."

"What?"

She looked at him. "I was kind of hoping you'd like this as much as I do, but you're afraid of heights, aren't you?"

"I-I-It's n-not like that!" he stammered. She gave him a sceptical smile and Latias began drifting gently downwards, back home towards Littleroot. "May!"

"What?"

"Do you think we could go maybe to my Secret Base?"

"Your Secret Base?" she blinked. "Are you sure? That's really far away."

"Yeah."

"All right..."

When they finally arrived, Brendan could not be more relieved to be back on solid ground, despite being half-convinced the ground would fall away underfoot. Latias took off like a rocket when she dropped them off (and after recieving a rewarding handful of Pokepuffs and pets). May's laughter rang clear off the rocks at the burst of affection from Latias before her takeoff.

They sat together under the tree at the heart of the island there, looking at the still water reflecting the sky above. May sat beside him, her legs curled to one side, shoes off, and leaning on one arm, her body a hair's bredth away from his. The tiny island was entirely isolated, meaning nobody else was around, making it quiet, save for the gentle waves in the distance. This suited Brendan just fine. He glanced at May and found she was gazing at the stars' reflection, which was reflected back in her beautiful storm-coloured eyes.

He really liked her...

She was staring at him expectantly. Brendan gave a start, worried she'd caught him staring. "What?'

"I asked you how your contests are going? Are they all right?"

"Oh! Yes, they are. And you?"

"I can't match you," oh that smile... "But Adelaide continues to surprise people by appearing alongside the likes of Sharpedo, Salamence, Metagross, and Hariyama."

"Well, she is a Plusle. They're not exactly the first Pokemon you think of when given 'Cool' 'Clever' or 'Tough' to think about."

"Says you," May winked. "Adelaide would hate to hear you say that. She's more macho than you are."

She rested her head on his shoulder, making his heart skip a beat. She then giggled and sat up after barely resting her head, and unless he was mistaken, there was a faint pink tinge to her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around her knees, gazing out over the water again.

"You have a really pretty place for you base," she said softly. "I like it here, Brendan."

"Me too," he watched her hair flutter in the soft breeze.

He was so taken with her, something that had never, ever happened before. It had only gotten worse. They'd been best friends for so long now... nearly a year and a half. He was almost afraid to make a move. Not just out of fear of ruining their friendship, but her father was a powerful and difficult gym leader, and May herself was the regional Champion. Which reminded him...

"Why aren't you at the Pokemon League?"

May made a face then sighed. "I don't get to see anyone back home when I'm there, so I kinda left for the night. Really I'm not supposed to be here."

Brendan felt rather guilty all of a sudden. "I-I'm sorry, I should visit."

She tucked her hair back. "Don't worry about it. I mean, I'd love it if you would visit, but you're busy doing your own thing. How is it going, by the way? Following in your dad's footsteps?"

"Pretty good," he said. "Being a Contest Star has been helpful. People from as far as Kalos and Unova come to see me. Can you believe it?"

May smiled. "Well, you are amazing at it. Professor Birch said you were offered a chance to go tour Kanto."

"Oh... yes, I am," he said. "I'll be leaving next week."

"That soon?" was she... disappointed?

"Yeah."

"When will you be back?"

Brendan shrugged. "I don't know yet."

"Oh. Well, good luck. I'm sure you'll be fantastic!"

"Thanks, May. Good luck with the Champion thing."

She laughed. "Thanks. And you do well with your Contest thing."

May got to her feet and brushed sand and grass off her shorts before pulling out the Eon Flute. So it was time to go home then. Understandable, it was probably close to dawn. She didn't seem as cheerful when she called Latias to her, though. Brendan climbed on behind her once more, hugging her waist. May dropped him off in Littleroot, before telling him she had to go back to the League now. He couldn't help it. He pulled her in for a tight hug.

"Come see me before I go, okay? Please, May?"

"I'll try," she said. "Are you taking leave from Slateport?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "At about nine in the morning next Thursday."

"I'll try to be there," what she did next sent a deep blush flaring over his cheeks again. She gave Brendan a swift kiss on the cheek and smiled unblushingly at him. "Good luck out there, if I don't make it. Knock 'em dead, Brendan."


	2. Chapter 2

"Looking for someone?" Lisia asked playfully, prodding Brendan in the cheek as they waited to board the ferry.

He chose not to answer- she knew already. Though he had no real hope May would make it now, considering how close it was to nine already. She'd been kept busy at the League, it seemed. To be expected, he guessed. Lisia plucked at his sleeve, telling him they needed to board now. Brendan gave a tiny sigh and let her pull him along. Was he disappointed? Yes. Surprised? Not so much. Brendan watched Hoenn grow smaller and smaller in the distance as the ferry pulled away. Lisia stood next to him, for once dressed in everyday clothes in the form of a sundress, and all of her hair drawn back in a neat Kalosian plait. She was wearing her usual serene smile, watching Ali soar alongside the ship, playfully racing Brendan's Flygon (which was actually May's originally, and had been a gift from her shortly after she became Champion).

"I'm kind of excited," she said, breaking Brendan out of his reverie. "This programme is new, since I don't think Contests are big in other regions, but it's our job to make a really good impression and bring contests to everyone!"

Brendan smiled. "What are you going to call this episode?"

Lisia grinned, thinking for a moment before striking her signature pose. "I think I'll call it 'Travelling stars! Shooting across the skies of Kanto!'"

He laughed. "I like it."

Lisia leant back on the railing. "Let's do our best, okay? Even if we don't succeed in sharing the wonder and fun of Contests, we should still have a blast doing it!"

"All right."

She held up her pinky at him. "Promise?"

"Promise," he said, linking his finger with hers. "Don't we always have fun, though?"

"Of course! But this is a bit different," she said. "I mean, a new region where nobody does contests! People may not be interested, but we can't let that keep us down!"

"Yes, Ma'am," he said, saluting her and earning a rare playful shove. "Will do!"

The day came and went, and night soon began to fall. Lisia was sitting on the floor of Brendan's room in her pyjamas, her hair now up in twintail buns, playing with Ali. Brendan was on his bed, writing in a notebook. Lisia recalled Ali to his PokeBall and stood up, walking over to Brendan.

"What're you up to, hm?"

"Just thinking of ideas," he said. "The best way to show the Contest Spectacular off."

Lisia smiled, sitting on the edge of his bed. "Care to share?"

"Oh, uh... I dunno," he said, tucking his hair back from his face. "Everything's a bit rough right now."

Lisia folded her arms and rested them on his knees, her head in her arms. "But you will tell me?"

"Of course," he said. "We're in this together, and I'll need your help to make this perfect."

"I'll compose some ideas myself, then!" Lisia said with a cheerful wink.

"Great!"

Lisia got up. "I'll have to get on it now, then, huh? See you in the morning! When do we arrive at Kanto?"

"Sometime after lunch, I think, we should pull into harbour there. Well, that's my estimate based on the distance between Hoenn and Kanto."

"Really?"

He shrugged. "Just a guess."

"How did you figure that?"

Brendan shrugged. "I studied Kanto a little before I left and I found it on this world map my dad has and found out how far away it is, and estimated the speed of the ferry based on other ferries in the area."

"Hm," Lisia made a small, warm sound of interest before twirling on the spot. "That's so cool!"

"Shh, people are sleeping," he said. "Thanks, though, Lisia."

She smiled. "Good night, Brendan."

"Sweet dreams."

* * *

May was stuck waiting for challengers that seemed unlikely to ever come. Honestly, it was boring- she really wished she could be out there, doing something, but there wasn't a lot to do. Adelaide sat on her lap, watching the door intently. May rubbed the top of her head, right between Adelaide's ears, and sighed. She was tempted to let out her entire team to satiate her boredom, but decided against it. She'd intended to lead with Adelaide, so that's why she was allowed out. So far, her first and only challenger since becoming Champion had laughed himself silly at her first choice of Pokemon, but quickly stopped when Adelaide took out a good chunk of his team by herself before Volt Switching out to change places with her Castform. He looked like he wanted to laugh again, but either had learnt his lesson with Adelaide, or quickly discovered that Calamine wasn't something to laugh at.

"I would have thought the Champion would use Pokemon more, um, intimidating than that," he had admitted, recalling his fainted Hydreigon. "But I guess looks really are decieving. I mean... you're a child, and you're much stronger than I am."

"I don't use Plusle and Castform to decieve," May had told him. "I use them because they're my friends, and they helped me journey through this region and become the Champion."

He had then asked who else May had for her team, and May had told him to become stronger, then come back and fight her to find out. Steven promised her that it only would be boring at first, during the month she wasn't actually allowed to leave the League unless it was important (before telling her that he snuck out often, but May had only done this the once). Truth be told, she really missed Brendan already, and was rather upset that she'd not been able to see him off, but a challenger was edging their way through the Elite Four at the time, and she had to stay put, only for them to be stopped in their tracks with Glacia's Ice-types. May had no type preference, making her rather unpredictable, not that anyone had been able to really find that out yet.

Her illustrious team consisted of Adelaide, Calamine, her beloved Sceptile she'd named Britain, her Sableye, Cristal, who she allowed to Mega Evolve (provided anyone could get to her and she felt this was fair retaliation), and two Pokemon, Bubbles and Eris, she'd received early in her journey from two Kalosian women when she was in Petalburg the first time. May wondered where the women were now, and if they'd gone back to Kalos. She'd really like to thank them again- without Eris and Bubbles, a Florges and a Greninja now, she probably wouldn't have become the Champion she was now.

"Plus...?"

"I'm all right," she assured Adelaide. "I'm just thinking about our friends and how we all came to be together. Like how I met Eris, Bubbles, and Britain before you, and then the five of us made friends with Calamine and Cristal after that. Remember?"

Adelaide gave a cheer, making May smile and rub Adelaide's cheeks with her fingers. Adelaide squealed in delight. "You're such a little cutie, Adelaide."

She embraced the Pokemon, who hugged back excitedly. Honestly, nothing could get Adelaide down.


	3. Chapter 3

It was Brendan's Togetic who woke him the next morning. He sat up, rumpling his hair, wide awake already.

"Peanut, be quiet... you'll wake everyone else up."

Peanut ignored him, cheerfully zooming around the tiny cabin, forcing Brendan to recall her to her Heal Ball. She'd been a gift to him as an egg from a woman in Lavaridge Town, and was a natural in the Cuteness contests. Brendan had a team of four with him to participate in all but the Beauty contests- he usually used May's Florges for those, as May didn't have time to take her and Eris seemed to really take pride in her beauty. However, May needed Eris with her, and so he was down one competitor, though he supposed it didn't exactly matter, since Ali was more than happy to cover that. Brendan stretched and yawned, getting up and dressed for the day. It was barely dawn. The morning air was crisp and cool, feeling rather nice despite the warm comfort of his room. He rolled his eyes when Peanut burst out of her Poke Ball again, noisily tackling Brendan in her excitement to see him. Lisia poked her head out of her room, looking groggy.

"Whassyoudoin?" she asked.

Her celadon hair stuck up in places and she looked thoroughly out of it, her gel eye mask on her forehead so she could see him. Seeing Lisia so disoriented like this was nearly amusing. He'd pegged her as a morning person. "Watching the sunrise with Peanut, since I'm awake. Go back to sleep, Lisia."

She blinked slowly at him before doing just that, closing her door without another word. Brendan reached out and patted Peanut's head.

"You wanna practice for the contest showing, Peanut?"

Peanut cooed excitedly.

"All right then," Brendan smiled. "Let's practice. Aim your attacks to the practice doll like normal, but try to be quiet, since Lisia is asleep."

Lisia came out of her room a few hours later, looking much more awake and fully dressed, Ali in tow. She tackled Brendan in a good morning hug, as she had yesterday, beaming. "Good morning, Brendan!"

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Brendan said, slightly muffled by her arm.

"Huh?"

"I saw you earlier this morning."

"Uh... no?"

"So you don't remember?" Brendan suppressed a laugh.

All she gave him in return was a blank stare. Brendan's face twisted as he tried not to laugh. Lisia frowned at him. "What's that face for?"

"... It's nothing. You wanna get some last-minute practice for our speech in?"

"Oh, yes," she clasped her hands together, beaming once more. "I think we should. But I wouldn't call it a speech, Brendy."

"... Brendy? Liss, can I ask that you never, ever call me that again? My mom calls me that and it's embarrassing enough coming from her, I don't need you calling me that."

Lisia smiled, but said nothing. Brendan felt his face burn and folded his arms. His parents both had a whole host of nicknames for him, though as far as he knew, May hadn't heard any yet, which was roughly the only positive thing he could think of at that moment. Lisia gave a musical little laugh.

"Oh, Brendan, don't worry. I'm only teasing. If you don't like it, I won't call you that," she ruffled his hair playfully and smiled, resting her hand on his cheek for a moment. Brendan felt his blush increase and stepped away from her hand.

"I, uh, w-well, let's just... try to uh... thing. Practice the thing. The introduction thing."

She giggled. "You're too cute, Brendan. But I agree, let's get to it."

* * *

May was laying splayed on her back, bored out of her mind, well aware of just how empty the stone room around her was. Being Champion was so... lonely. She wished she could get out, but after she, a child, had become Champion, people were flocking to the Pokemon League to beat her, and Sidney had told her it was for her and her Pokemon's own good, since people would want to challenge her left and right. She gave a small sigh.

"Champion May, there is a Challenger on his way to face you."

"Eh? Oh, thanks, Drake," May sat up, rushing to her place. She held Adelaide's PokeBall to her chest. "All right, Addie... You're up first. Get ready."

May heard the vast stone doors behind her open and steadied herself. She turned around to face the challenger. She closed her eyes and sighed, then smiled brightly.

"Hi, Wally."

Wally didn't smile. "I'm ready to show you what I learnt since we last battled. Please, let me fight you."

"Of course. You know the rules- I can use two healing items, but you can use as many as you like, and you're trying to defeat my team of six with your own team I'll choose first, so you can choose accordingly. But you already know my team, right?" Wally didn't seem to want to return her smile, a frown of determination still firm on his face. May's smile faded. "... Okay, then. Adelaide, I'm sorry, I'm going to have to go with someone else first for now. Bubbles, it's your turn!"

The Greninja hit the ground, already poised for battle and glancing at May over his shoulder. Wally paused before choosing Azumarill. Bubbles acted immediately with Gunk Shot before Wally's Azumarill could react. Azumarill shook his body to try and rid it of the stink and returned with Play Rough. Bubbles jumped at the right time to avoid it, reading May's mind, and firing off a second Gunk Shot in midair.

"Way to go, Bubbles!" May said warmly as Azumarill collapsed, petting his head. Bubbles smiled.

Wally threw out his Magnezone, his frown increasing. Bubbles readied himself.

"Magnezone, use Thunder Wave!"

"Bubbles, use Bounce to avoid it!"

Bubbles leapt high, coming down hard to strike Magnezone. The attack hit harder than it usually would have, but barely affected Magnezone. It did, however, make a pop when he hit, and tattered, red rubber fragments fell on the ground. Bubbles wasted no time in digging himself a deep trench below the feild, coming up from under the Magnezone, sending it flying. Bubbles elegantly landed back in his place. Wally's Magnezone lay on its head, spinning on its rims, out cold. It was clear Wally was getting frustrated now, calling back Magnezone and sending out Roserade. Roserade laid out a Leech Seed that wound its way around Bubbles, despite his attempts to fight it off. He abandoned the attempt, standing upright and poising himself, bringing down an Extrasensory onto Roserade. Roserade countered with Petal Blizzard, which Bubbles took very well. He shuddered when Leech Seed affected him, bounding into the air and hitting with a powerful Extrasensory.

"Roserade, return," Wally recalled his fainted Roserade, his eyes narrowed. "Go, Garchomp!"

"Bubbles, use Extrasensory, just like before!"

"Garchomp, use Dragon Claw!"

With grace, Bubbles avoided the attack, perfectly sensing May's thoughts on where Garchomp was likely to strike. Bubbles landed silent as a shadow on the ground, jumping very high into the air, disappearing from sight in the high ceiling. He reappeared, slamming down onto Garchomp, his eyes widening slightly at the unexpected pain from the contact. Garchomp used his surprise to her advantage, her claws cutting at Bubbles. Bubbles jumped and flipped back, landing a well-placed Extrasensory on order once more, again forcing Wally to recall one of his team, looking taciturne as he watched May rub Bubbles on the top of the head, laughing and congratulating him on a job well done. Wally sent out Talonflame.

"Bubbles, use Gunk Shot!"

"Talonflame, Brave Bird, now!"

Talonflame missed the Gunk Shot, and hit hard with its Brave Bird, sending Bubbles slamming unto the opposite wall.

"Bubbles!" May cried, her hands over her mouth. "Are you okay!?"

Bubbles stood up, a silent indicator that he was fine, bounding forward and trying Gunk Shot again. Talonflame was still dazed from its Brave Bird, but took the Gunk Shot. It performed another Brave Bird, looking unusually weak despite using two of them in a row. Wally healed it up with a Full Restore, and Talonflame shook his head, taking to the skies again, looking as stern as Wally did. May healed her Greninja, who seemed very delighted to be able to keep fighting, resting a hand on May's head in gratitude. May giggled.

"Bubbles, use Bounce!"

"Talonflame, use Tailwind and avoid it!"

Bubbles bounced gracefully off the ground, shifting his momentum as he came down. Unfortunately, this left him very open for a Steel Wing from Talonflame, followed by a Brave Bird.

"Bubbles!" Bubbles swayed, meeting May's eyes before he fainted.

"Oh," May recalled him, looking down at the PokeBall. "You did amazingly, Bubbles. You get some rest now."

She tucked his PokeBall away, pausing before sending out her Sabeleye. Cristal chittered in excitement, glancing at May over her shoulder. Wally didn't know Cristal was her Mega Evolver, since the last time they'd battled, it was her Sceptile.

"Talonflame, Brave Bird!"

Cristal countered with a Power Gem, and Wally healed his Talonflame, ordering it to use Flare Blitz. May chose Power Gem as her choice attack again, this time taking out Talonflame, despite Cristal getting a burn from Flare Blitz. Tailwind petered out and Wally sent out his last Pokemon, Gallade. May decided as he did this that she would only Mega Evolve Cristal as needed (seeing as she had a total advantage over Gallade), but Wally spoke up at last.

"I want to battle you, Mega to Mega," he said. "So send out Sceptile."

"I can't," May said, healing Cristal. "Because Britain doesn't Mega Evolve right now."

"Oh," Wally frowned. "Fine. Then fight me with all your strength!"

Gallade Mega Evolved, using Swords Dance as his first move. May hesitated for a split second before telling Cristal to use Poison Jab, which Gallade naturally shook off, using Swords Dance again. Cristal used Poison Jab again, again failing to poison Gallade. Gallade used one final Swords Dance, and was promptly poisoned by a third Poison Jab. Gallade struck with a powerful Psycho Cut, but Cristal shook it off, countering with Punishment, fainting Gallade instantly. Wally called him back, totally silent. This was the first time May had ever fought him without Mega Evolution, and she still beat him with so little effort. He held in his scream of anger and instead gave a small growl, barely audible growl of frustration, then forced a smile. It looked somewhat painful and she hated it.

"Do you want to go out for lunch tomorrow?" he asked tightly.

"I, uh, I'd love to," May said awkwardly. "Wally-"

"... I will defeat you one day."

He left before May could speak. She sighed, walking over to the healing centre she was to use, sitting down on the steps and sighing.

"I wish Brendan were here..." she sighed, her face in her hands. "Or that I could talk to him..."

She ran her fingers through the locks of hair that framed her face. Wally's behaviour troubled her so much, when she thought about how different he used to be. Shy, meek, awkward, nervous, caring... now he seemed so cold, consumed by the idea of beating her. May stood up and walked outside. It was pouring down rain over the Pokemon League. She turned back inside and opened up the PC, trading around her Pokemon for the time being. May walked down the stone stairs beside her to the stormswept beach. The last time she'd seen rain like this was when Kyogre had raged the skies in its effort to drown the world, even though this wasn't nearly as bad. She was still soaking wet within minutes, though. May sat down on the low wall, watching the rain hit the sand and create ripples in the sea, taking out a Great Ball and looking at it, caressing it with her fingers.

"This is your kind of weather, huh, Poseidon?" she asked the Pokeball. "I'm thinking we should maybe go for a bit of a swim, since I'm already soaked... And you've calmed down a lot since you went mad with power. I don't think Archie meant to hurt anyone. I'm positive of it, you know?"

May traced the red markings on the top of the Great Ball. "He's still trying so hard to make up for what he did, but you know, I don't really think it was all that bad in the end. You let me see to that when you let me stop you, Poseidon."

She sighed, sitting back and looking at the dark grey sky before standing up and re-entering the League. She pressed the intercom button.

"Hey, Sidney?" Sidney was the only one who always replied to her.

"Hm?"

"I'm going out for a bit."

"That's fine," Sidney said. "How long?"

"I don't know, I just... need to get out."

Sidney laughed gently. "All right, kiddo. We'll man the fort while you're gone. Besides, I think Glacia and Phoebe are out anyway, so nothing much can be done."

"Thanks, Sidney."

May stood out on the balcony again, calling Latias to her with her flute. She rubbed Honey Lemon's neck, flying without any real destination in mind. The rain did not let up at all as they soared past Mossdeep at top speed, touching down outside the Lilycove Pokemon Centre. May didn't enter it, though, instead walking around the mostly empty town, seeing as nobody wanted to be out in the torrential rain.

"Hey, scamp!"

May looked around, finding Archie approaching her, managing to both grin broadly and look concerned. She smiled on seeing him.

"Hi, Archie."

"You doing okay?" Archie ruffled the bow on her head. "You look like a little drowned Poochyena."

May made a face. "It's raining."

"And you were out in it?"

"It's raining all the way from here to the League, and Kyogre's still safe in its Pokeball," she said, holding up the Great Ball that held Kyogre. "So this is just normal rain, I think."

There was a heavy clap of thunder and a flash of bright lightning. May had seen these off and on during her flight over, and May initially thought his sudden frown had to do with the weather, but then he said, "why don't we go back to the base, and you can get warmed up? You're shivering."

"I'm fine," May waved her hand, sending water droplets flying. "If I go inside, I'll just feel even colder, and to be honest, I don't even feel cold. I do come from a port town, you know."

Archie shook his head. "That's not the point. Can you at least come with me into the Pokemon Centre?"

He pointed towards it, and May gave a tiny sigh. "Why?"

"Because nobody else is out in this weather. One of my team members saw you flying in, and I thought I'd come say hello and get after you for flying in this dangerous weather," he added sharply, suddenly scowling. "Flying in a lightning storm? Are you crazy?"

May shrank a little. "I wasn't really paying attention."

"You really need to look out for these things," Archie scolded. "Honestly, scamp..."

"I'm sorry," May really did feel like she did whenever her father got after her, and found herself tugging on her hair like she would when in trouble with her father.

Feeling resigned, she followed him. Archie was one of the few people whose presence she genuinely enjoyed. He may not have forgiven himself for the incident with Kyogre, but she had. It was easy for her, considering his treatment of her the entire time she was trying to stop him. The way he acted ended up making her regard him more like the brother she never had than anything (which in turn, made her all the more determined to stop him). It helped that he seemed to genuinely regret what he'd done, that his intentions had been noble, and that it was very clear he hadn't anticipated exactly how powerful Kyogre was, or what it would do on release.

May caught a glimpse of herself in a reflective window and stopped. Bedraggled didn't even come close to describing how she looked. Not only was she soaked, she was thoroughly windswept and pale, except for the pink flush in her cheeks from the cold. Her hair was too tangled to be smoothed out, and it was twisted around her hair bow. She tugged on her bow gently, sighing.


	4. Chapter 4

"Wait, what do you mean Contests are already a thing?"

Brendan and Lisia exchanged look, Brendan folding his arms. Kahn and Tess, the organisers, looked awkward.

"Well," Kahn pulled on a lock of his spiky bleached hair. "Our notes seem to have Kalos and Kanto mixed up. So I guess you're going to be here for publicity and to meet with the stars of the Kanto contests. That's what you were scheduled to do in Kalos."

"Oh," Lisia glanced at Brendan again. "All right, I guess."

"We're sorry!" Tess cried.

"No, no, it's fine!" Brendan held up his hands to chest height. "We're not upset. It's just a surprising change to the plans, right, Lis?"

Lisia shook her head. "Of course there's no problem. We're just a little unprepared, but you know, we can handle it! Coordinators like us have to be prepared for any surprises. Right, Brendan?"

"Right," he grinned, his hands on his hips and tilting his head. "We just have to talk a bit about it, yeah?"

Lisia nodded. "Give Brendan and I, oh, ten minutes?"

"Ten? I was thinking five at most. The show must go on, Lis, and we can't keep the public waiting."

Lisia gave a melodious laugh. "You're right. Five minutes."

"Okay," Kahn said, approaching the door. "You two finish getting ready, then. We'll see you in ten."

He and Tess left, closing the green room door behind them. Brendan sat down to fix the feathers into his hair, picking up a clip to push his hair out of the way.

"So I guess we're doing some kind of... meet and greet?" he asked, frowning at his reflection as he attempted to make a loop with his hair.

"I suppose," Lisia said, setting her mega tiara down on the beauty table beside Brendan's and taking her hair down. "But do you really think people here would be interested in that? I think I'd like to have fun and do a contest with them. Maybe Kanto does their contests differently from Hoenn!"

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that," Brendan said, dropping his bead down his shirt on accident. "I kinda hope they do, it'd be so interesting to see the differences. Maybe they battle."

"I certainly hope not..."

"Ah, I think Ali would be okay, and you can use some of my team. If needed, I can coach you on battling."

Lisia shook her head. "It's not that I'm no good at it because I don't try- I don't like seeing Pokemon get hurt battling."

"Yeah, I don't, either, but..." Brendan gave a small shake of his head. "My team loves to battle, and it's a thrill for them. It's rare I do it."

"If we ever come aross a place who battles to show off Pokemon in a contest like these, we should show off our style," Lisia secured her tiara in her hair. "Contests are a way to show off the beauty and magnificence of Pokemon without hurting other Pokemon."

Brendan shrugged, still fighting with his hair. "If it's their way of doing it, I don't really think we should impose unless there's a reason for it. Lis, a lot of Pokemon just love to battle, even if they get defeated. You should try battling with Ali at least once, and see if he likes it. You can battle me."

Lisia gave a small sigh. "I don't know, Brendan. I just don't really care for battling."

"Have you tried it?"

"... No," she admitted, standing up to help Brendan clip the feathers in.

"Then you can't say you don't like battling. Here," he held up one of his PokeBalls. "You don't have to fight with Ali, you can use one of my team, and we're going to have a battle."

"But-"

"Humour me. I want to have a battle with you."

Lisia gently pushed his hand away. "No, Brendan."

"I insist," he said. "Because what are you going to do if you get in a jam and need help against someone using their Pokemon against you? I want to teach you for your own safety."

"My safety?"

"Yeah. I want to teach you some of the basics of battling. You said you've never battled, meaning that even if you know what the basics roughly are, you've never put what you know into practice."

"W-well, that's true," she said awkwardly, pinching the fusion link closed around his hair and the red feather.

"You should practice it. You don't have to battle competitively, but you are a trainer, Lis, and you should at least be able to hold your own against an experienced fighter, long enough to either scare them off, or be able to escape with your Pokemon without getting trapped or injured or worse."

Lisia sighed. "I know you have a point, Brendan, but I just... I don't like the idea of battle."

"Sometimes it's inevitable. Ali is definitely strong, but if you can't battle, you're going to be in a bit of a pinch. You two trust each other, but can you work in sync when you're in danger? And sometimes you may have to work with a Pokemon you're not familiar with. Remember when our PokeBalls got switched, and I had to use Ali, and you had to use Sunny? And we had to improvise?"

Lisia blushed. She'd been quite thrown to find a Blaziken inside the PokeBall she'd thrown, and had barely scraped third place due to forgetting all of Sun Striker's moves but High Jump Kick for the first two rounds, where Brendan had rather easily gotten over the surprise and worked neatly with Ali to secure first. Lisia didn't really care about coming in third, apart from it showing how she could be just as startled as Sunny had been. She'd recovered, but her errors in the first two rounds had cost her a bit of confidence in her skills, whatever Brendan said.

"Lis, I just want you to be safe," he said, looking up at her. "You don't even have to fight using Ali."

Lisia secured the yellow feather in his hair and sighed again. "Let me think about it, Brendan, okay?"

"Thanks," he said, fluffing his hair back in place. "And please do."

Lisia looked very doubtul.

"So considering the surprise we just had about where we are, I suppose we should call this chapter 'Surprise Twist! Meeting Kanto Contest Coordinators!', what do you think?" Brendan grinned up at her, swiftly changing the subject.

Lisia smiled and laughed, hugging his shoulders and resting her cheek on his head. "That sounds absolutely perfect. Come on, let's go."

Brendan slipped his Keystone out of his Mega Bracelet and into his Mega Cuff. "Ready."

Lisia smoothed him out and gave him a glowing smile, her fingers laced behind her back. "You look _magnifique_ , Brendan."

He grinned, brushing his finger over her cheek to brush off a few locks of hair clinging to her cheek. "You speak Kalosian?"

"Not much," a faint blush stained her cheeks. "It just seemed appropriate."

"Fair enough," he walked out of the room head of her. "Well, let's get going."

Lisia took a moment to follow after him. She let out the breath she hadn't realised she was holding, running her fingers through her fringe. "Oh... no."

It took her a moment to find Brendan, Tess, and Kahn. Kahn and Tess were talking with a quirky-looking woman with long blue hair, and Brendan was sitting off by himself, scrawling or drawing in a notebook and studying the Pokemon the woman had with her. Lisia leant over his shoulder to see what he was doing. He didn't seem to notice, too busy working on a sketch of the Pokemon and labeling the parts in his spare, angular cursive, the second page covered in notes about it.

The sketch was extremely well-done, especially for a quick sketch. Lisia rested her arms around his shoulders, watching him. Brendan, rather used to this sign of affection from her, didn't say anything. Lisia watched him draw with a charcoal pencil, shading in and completing his drawing, labelling it 'Venomoth'.

"That's really good."

"Thanks," he said vaguely. "I've been drawing Pokemon since I can remember, beacause I always wanted to be like my dad."

He looked at her, smiling. "Someday I hope I can see every Pokemon."

"I'm sure you will," Lisia assured him, squeezing his shoulders in a hug before shifting her hands to rest on them. "We are travelling, you know."

She smiled serenely. "Just don't get distracted."

"I won't," he promised, setting a sheet of wax paper between the pages and closing his book. "Look, here they come."

"Brendan, Lisia, this is Ronice. She's the Master of Ceremonies for Kanto, and like Khan and I, she's an organiser, too."

Ronice made a note on her clipboard, then looked up with a smile. "Welcome to Kanto, it's a pleasure to have you here."

"It's a pleasure to be here," Brendan said eagerly.

"Thank you for having us," Lisia added politely.

Ronice beconed them towards her. "Now, this is a Kanto Contest Hall. It shouldn't look much different than yours, does it?"

"No, it doesn't," Lisia looked around. "This is really a beautiful hall."

"Thank you. All of our Halls look very different, though it's to my understanding all Hoenn halls are the same?"

"Yep," said Brendan. "I think it's out of a belief that symmetry is beauty, but our four Halls are totally identical."

"We have four as well," Ronice picked up a pair of switches (buttons? Brendan wasn't sure) hanging down on a large, thick cord. "This is our largest hall for the Master Rank contests. This stage you see here is used for showing off a Pokemon's elegance, grace, and skill."

She pressed the raised switch, and the stage sank into the ground, the floor of a battle arena replacing it. The ceiling opened up onto the clear blue sky above. "This is the second half of the contest, the Battle Stage."

"Battle?"

"Yes," Ronice seemed not to notice the hesitation in Lisia's tone. "Do you not battle in Hoenn?"

"Not in our contests," Brendan explained, glancing at Lisia's expression. She looked like she wanted to say something. "We battle, we have a whole League- my best friend is actually the regional Champion back home- but battles are not part of Contests."

"Can you battle?"

"I can," Brendan answered. "I originally wanted to become the Hoenn Regional Champion, but I realised that wasn't likely to happen. I'm a strong trainer, but I'm not the strngest. So I stopped persuing that goal and instead put a lot more effort into Contests."

"Then you'll enjoy our contests."

"Can battling be optional?" asked Brendan. "I mean, out of curiosity."

"Nobody's ever requested it, but if you didn't want to battle, you would only be able to compete in the first event, so you'd never be able to win."

Ronice pressed the other switch to change the room back to the first set, then indicated they needed to follow her again. Brendan started walking, but quickly became aware that Lisia wasn't following him.

"Lis?"

She didn't answer, frowning at the arena. Brendan didn't think she was that bothered by battling. She'd originally told him she wasn't a very good battler (or something to that effect), but considering she just told him she'd never fought... Brendan wondered if something was genuinely wrong, and made a mental note to ask her later, and Wallace if she refused to tell the truth. He gently attempted to get her attention by resting his hand on her shoulder. Lisia jumped and looked around.

"Oh! Brendan. Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts," she gave him a dazzling smile. "Let's go!"


	5. Chapter 5

May sat on the sofa in Archie's room, a fluffy royal blue towel resting over her shoulders and a cup of hot chocolate in her hands.

"You feeling warmed up there, kid?"

May nodded. "Thanks so much, Archie."

Archie sat back with his coffee at hand, wrapped in a towel himself. Despite halfhearted teasing from May trying to get him off her case about flying in, Archie wasn't going to let her dangerous trip go. As he pointed out, while he was an advocate for water Pokemon, a human getting soaked like that wasn't healthy.

"So what were you doing in Lilycove?"

May shrugged. "Nothing. I just wanted to get out of the League. It's so boring in there right now. They told me it'll get better, but there's nothing to do while I wait for someone to beat the Elite Four to get to me. I can't just casually ask them for battles, either, because I'm the Champion and the only casual battles I can have are outside the League walls."

She allowed herself to fall on her side with a sigh. "Steven says I should stop being so bored soon enough, but I can't see why anything would change in a few weeks or months time."

"Because you'll start to see some real challengers, rather than just people who rush to try and get a glimpse of the little girl who became Champion," said Shelly as she strode in. "Right now people aren't training or preparing properly to face you. Once the excitement dies down, actually strong challengers will be able to make their way to you."

"Hi, Shelly," May gave a wan little wave.

"Archie," Shelly folded her arms, turning to look at him. "Have you noticed the weather?"

"What are you talking about? It's been like this for days."

Shelly gave a small shake of her head. "Come and have a look."

"What's going on?"

Archie and May followed Shelly back up. A shallow pool of water covered most of the the second floor, water cascading down the stairs. On the top floor, the water was still rushing in from outside, waves noisily crashing against the rocks outside. May ran forward, flinging up her arms to block the water and calling Latias.

"May, wait!" Archie called, but May ignored him, clinging to Honey Lemon's neck as they took to the skies.

"Damn it," Archie swore. "That girl...!"

"She'll be fine. She's the Champion, after all, and she tamed Kyogre."

"That... honestly isn't much of a consolation. She's still a kid."

Honey Lemon was being tossed and turned by the harsh wind, nearly unseating May. The rain was so thick it was impossible to see where they were going. Honey Lemon managed to stay on course, but a violent gust of wind knocked her back, sending May plummeting down.

She was oddly calm as she fell headfirst towards the sea. She wasn't sure what made her feel like that. Maybe it was how light she felt from the heavy wind, or her confidence she'd be okay. She closed her eyes, taking a breath, willing Honey Lemon to go somewhere safe and calling Rayquaza to her. The winds slowed her descent, feeling like it was growing solid around her, and she landed squarely but unhurt on the brilliant emerald-scaled neck of Rayquaza. She curled her arms around its neck, looking around for her Latias. The red speck was barely visible on top of Team Aqua's base, and it was there that she mutely instructed Rayquaza to let her down from. It left immediately.

May fumbled around her belt for Honey Lemon's PokeBall, calling her back, sending Calamine back to the PC in her place. She sat down, thinking. Without Rayquaza and Honey Lemon, she seemed to be stuck. Well, she was already drenched... She dove down into the sea, ambling her way into the Pokemon Centre and holding out Honey Lemon's PokeBall to the nurse.

"Are you all right?!" she asked, alarmed.

"I'm fine," May insisted. "Just... heal my Pokemon."

The nurse did as she was asked, and May placed Honey Lemon in the PC, withdrawing the ageing Noctowl that had belonged to her father for so long until they moved here to Hoenn. Hermes had been around for longer than May had, once being part of her father's team due to being part-Normal. May didn't like using him because of his age, even though she knew that age was only a number to Hermes, who was still extremely tough.

Hermes looked out at the storm imperiously, silently saying he'd seen worse. May hugged him. "I need to get home, or at least out of this storm. Can you do that for me?"

Hermes leaned down to allow May onto his back, taking off, keeping low to avoid the worst of the storm, which didn't clear up until they reached Mauville City. Hermes was exhausted, though. May held out some PokePuffs for him and stroked his feathers. It was still pouring down rain over Mauville City, but perfectly normal rain.

"You should rest now," she said. "I can get home okay. Besides, I should talk to Wattson."

Hermes returned himself to his PokeBall, and May went into the gym, the trainers letting her simply pass through. Wattson was engaged in a battle with a tall man in red, the latter of whom was taking out Wattson's most powerful Pokemon with impunity and a Pidgeot, who looked to be almost as old as Hermes at least. The Pidgeot took Electric blows like it was nothing. Not once while May watched did the man speak, his Pokemon seeming to understand him seamlessly. He smiled when Pidgeot's talons clattered onto the gym floor at the end of the battle, the man gently stroking its plumage.

The man took his badge from Wattson, still silent and smiling, calling back his Pidgeot and leaving. He paused as he passed May, meeting her eyes. She was pale and shivering, looking like a total wreck. He continued to stand there, contemplating. May looked back at him. She could feel the incredible power and kindness radiating from this seasoned trainer.

"Who are you?" she heard herself ask.

He didn't speak, but merely tapped his hat, then tipped it to her with a smile. He didn't need to speak- May understood from the look in his eyes he was promising they'd meet again. May watched him go, snapping out of it only when the electricity build up in the room shocked her.

"Ow!"

"May!" Wattson hadn't even noticed her. "What are you doing here? And why are you soaked? Come up to my apartment, my wife will get you taken care of."

"Wattson, I just need to tell you something! I'm here on business. I still need to go see Roxanne, Brawly, Flannery and m- Norman," she cleared her throat, going pink. "They're not around Lilycove to see, and Winona, Tate and Liza, and Wallace should all know."

"Know what?"

May told him about the storm and what happened to her. Unlike Archie, he didn't reprimand her, but his jolly smile fell. "I see. I'll set out for Lilycove at once. I'll talk to Winona and Flannery on my way, so you just worry about Brawly, Roxanne, and your father."

"But-"

"Have you talked with Steven?"

May shook her head. "Slateport is on the way to visiting everyone else. If he isn't there, I'll talk to President Stone about reaching him."

She also had to let the Elite Four know. She'd only told Sidney she was stepping out. Steven would let them know, but Glacia and Drake would never forgive her if she didn't give the message herself. She left Mauville on foot, noticing as she did so that every Pokemon she saw was acting very peculiar. The tall man in red was standing just south of the town, a frown on his face. May stopped beside him. He now had a Pikachu on his shoulder. They wore identical stony expressions.

"Um..."

He looked at her, still silent.

"My name is May. Are you going to Slateport?"

He again tapped his hat, smiled, and nodded. May looked up at his hat, confused, but chose not to address it.

"Do you know what's causing this storm?"

He made a small, thoughtful expression, resting his hand against his chin. He didn't answer, though May by now wasn't expecting one.

"Do you mind if I come with you to Slateport?"

He shook his head, giving her a gentle push to indicate they should get going. The man was surprisingly good company for someone who had nothing to say even though May was certain he could speak. Wild Pokemon attacked without mercy, evidently driven mad by the unnatural weather. However, the man usually opted to not fight, sending out a Blissey to use Sing. However, he was forced a few times to fight if a Pokemon was not able to be lulled to sleep so easily or that simply was unresponsive to Blissey's voice, and continued to prove himself to May to be a gentle and gifted trainer.

Every Pokemon they knocked out, his Blissey would heal, then they would press on. They were forced to stop when a large group of Pokemon were barring the path beside the Cycling Road. May looked up at her companion.

"We could go around by Route 103 to Oldale then through to Route 104 to Petalburg if you're challenging the Gyms, since there's a Gym there, or we can try and wait this out back there in the Trick House. We can also take the cycling road. I have an extra bike if you don't have one," she pointed to the cycling road. "If we go to Petalburg City, we can pass through to the next route, we can go to Rustboro and Dewford from there, though there will be backtracking..."

He considered this, then sent out a curious-looking pink Pokemon. It gazed at her quietly, and May had the weird feeling it was reading her mind. Then it turned to its trainer with a truly adorable squeak. The man took hold of its tail, looking at May and holding out his other hand. She hesitated before taking it, feeling a warm lightness spread through her. The Pokemon gave another cry, using its powers to lift them off the ground and flying them to Slateport's Pokemon Centre. When they touched down, May held out her hands to the small creature. It sat down cheerfully in them.

"I've never seen anything like you before," she said. "oh... I wish Brendan were here."

Her companion furrowed his brow.

"Brendan is my best friend," May elaborated. "He's studying Pokemon and wants to become a professor like his dad some day. Even if he didn't know who this little guy is, he'd love to see it. So would Professor Birch."

The Pokemon flew out of her hands, flying once around her with a happy coo. May pulled out her PokeDex and held it up to the Pokemon, which was identified as an Unknown Pokemon. May blinked.

"Unknown?"

Her companion held out his own Pokedex, which looked like the original prototypes May had seen in Birch's office. His Pokedex identified the Pokemon as the Kanto-native Mew.

"Oh! You're from Kanto?"

He nodded once.

"Have you been to Johto?"

He nodded again, opening the door to the Pokemon Centre as May told him that she was from Johto. Their conversation (if it could be called that) ended abruptly when they got inside, as the Centre was packed. May stopped a passing Nurse.

"What happened?"

"Wild Pokemon have been attacking strangers," she said. "Are the two of you all right?"

"Y-yes, is there any way we can help?"

"No," she said. "Unless you have Chansey, Blissey, or Audino."

The man let out his Blissey, then walked over to the PC, returning with a Chansey and an Audino. The three Pokemon, with a tilt of their trainer's head, went off to help.

"Thank you," the nurse said breathlessly. "The two of you, if you're feeling all right and your Pokemon don't need any care, can go up to the third floor if you want to rest."

The first and second floor resting rooms seemed to be packed, but the third floor was very quiet, having only three trainers in it, sitting around the rainwashed window with their Pokemon. May went off to take a hot bath and brush out her hair, finally getting a good look at her appearance. It took her over an hour to get back, still running a comb through the longest parts of her hair. Her travelling companion was sitting on a bed, writing a letter that seemed to span over several pages already. For someone who never talked, he seemed to have a lot to say. His Pikachu was situated to his right, watching him.

May wondered if she should ask who he was writing to, then decided against it, noting that he probably wouldn't answer her, anyway, and sat down on the bed next to his where she'd dumped her bag and Pokeballs to write her own letter to Brendan to update him about things, doing her best to draw him a sketch of Mew. When she'd completed her letter, her companion was still writing and had written over a considerable stack of paper.

"Keep writing and the delivery Pokemon won't be able to carry it," she teased. He jumped, then gave a soft, nearly silent sort of laughter that was none the less entirely genuine. He finished writing, signing with a flourish and letting his Pikachu press its paw as a signature. He picked up the stack beside him, and May was given a glance at the first page. The first thing she noticed was that he had rather small, neat handwriting. The second was that he used yellow stationary with a pair of Pikachu on them, one in the top left, the other in the bottom right. He stuck a pink flower sticker to the female Pikachu.

"That stationary is really cute."

He grinned, placing identical stickers on all the pages in the same place. On the last page, May finally was able to learn his name, as the letter was signed "All my love, Red". It dawned on her he was telling her his name every time he touched his hat, as it was likewise red in colour. He tucked the letter into an envelope, setting it on his nighttable.

"My Taillow can take that letter for you," May said. "Frank doesn't get out much anymore."

Red smiled gently, holding out his letter to her. May stood up. "But I have one condition."

He quirked his eyebrows.

"When we set out tomorrow, I want to meet your team."

Red grinned, holding out a hand to shake hers as a sign of agreement.

By the way, all of May's team is named after Pokemon that I used in my first Hoenn trip, with two exceptions (regarding the names). I transferred a shiny Froakie I had to use in my game (but his name was Billabong and I didn't nickname him. I didn't want to use the name of a real-world company, so he became Bubbles), and I bred a Flabebe named Aerith (Eris here in the story) specifically for contest purposes. But I did use the Froakie line and the Flabebe line in my first Hoenn playthrough. May's opinion of Archie as being like a brother is based on how I felt about Archie when playing. While my Froakie was shiny, Bubbles is not.


	6. Chapter 6

Brendan was enjoying his time with his team out as they prepared to meet the top stars of the Kanto region's contests. As they waited, he groomed the excitable Peanut, mostly just to keep her in one place. Despite this, Peanut kept rubbing her head against his cheek. Brendan eventually gave up and hugged her, making the Togetic chirp happily along with his laughter.

Lisia watched them as she groomed Ali, or more accurately, she watched Brendan. While she had no intention of learning to battle, she still entertained the idea just to spend time with him directly. Over the year since they'd met, she'd grown fond of him. Too fond, she'd realised.

Sun Striker, Brendan's Blaziken, was standing with his arms folded, his usual stoic expression in place, watching her. She tactfully avoided Sun Striker's gaze. Even if he wasn't a Psychic-type, she always had the feeling Sunny knew what she was thinking. Brendan moved on to Archimedes, a Claydol who never talked. Archimedes let Brendan polish it, sitting perfectly still.

Lisia continued to sneak looks at Brendan around Ali, who was humming to himself, allowing Lisia to groom the two long, feather-covered antennae that extended from the top of his head, straightening out the tiny downlike feathers and making them shine. Archimedes, it seemed, was enjoying the polishing, as all of its many eyes were closed in bliss. Lisia had never watched him polish Archimedes before, since it was something he only did once a month or so, and was amazed to see the Claydol outright fall asleep while Brendan worked. Brendan's warm, knowing grin told her this happened all the time. He caught Lisa's eye and waved before Peanut nudged him in the chest for attention.

Sun Striker finally looked away to groom his handsome plumage with his beak, clearly too impatient to wait for Brendan. Sunny seemed to sparkle as it was and always had. Sunny's feathers were primarily a handsome, deep garnet, accented with gold and platinum white. He paused in his grooming to look at the door, which opened soon after. Sun Striker moved to a more dignified pose. Kahn and Tess entered, followed by three trainers, with Ronice bringing up the rear.

Brendan was quicker to act, offering a swift, warm smile. "Hi! You must be the regional contest champions we've heard so much about. I'm Brendan, and this is my team- Sun Striker, Peanut, Archimedes, and Bitey."

A girl with short, spiky purple hair seemed to be either wholly unimpressed, or doing a fantastic job of hiding anything else. "A team? You need a team?"

"I wouldn't say I need a team, but I prefer one."

"Hm," she folded her arms, cocking her head. "Whatever, I guess."

She turned sharply on one heel to look at Lisia, who immediately introduced Ali and then herself. She quirked one eyebrow and walked over. "I've never seen that before."

"An Altaria? It's indigenous to Hoenn."

"Ah. Crobat is technically native to Kanto, despite being discovered in Johto," she said, moving her hands to her hips, revealing part of her scarf was fixed to her elbows by pins. "Its evolution family originates here in Kanto."

"You use Crobat?" Brendan asked her, interested.

"Ah-huh," she said idly, pulling a Pokeball from its spot on her wrist. The top half of it was hand-painted with purple and blue. She pressed the button to enlarge the ball, then again to release her Crobat.

"Nitzel, why don't you be courteous and introduce yourself?"

Nitzel pursed her lips. "You just told them who I am..."

"Nitzel."

She sighed. "Fine. I'm Nitzel, I'm from Fuschia City, my sister-in-law is a gym leader, I've had my Crobat, Charles, from an Egg I got as a kid... Started doing contests a year or so later. Been doing them ever since. Anything else you want me to share, Ethernet?"

"N-no, that's fine," Brendan said.

"Honestly, Nitzel..." Ethernet was tall, slender, and incredibly androgynous looking and sounding. "It's not what you share, it's how you share it..."

Ethernet tucked a lock of bright red hair behind an ear. "I'm Ethernet. I was raised in Saffron City if we're sharing that. Porygon is my partner."

"A Porygon!? Really?" Brendan asked, his blue eyes wide.

"What's Porygon?" Lisia asked.

"It's a digital Pokemon and entirely manmade," Ethernet explained, holding up a Great Ball. "I found it in the wild, though, so I suspect it escaped. Before doing contests, I was a trainer with aspirations of being Champion, but I've no talent for such things. So, I caught Porygon as my first Pokemon."

"Wow..." Brendan breathed. "Cool."

The talk turned to Brendan's team. Nitzel and the third unknown person in the group walked over to Lisia, Khan, Tess, and Ronice keeping to one side and watching. The young man in the group was tall and very handsome, his orange- and gold-streaked red hair looking like a brilliant blaze on his head. When Lisia took his proffered hand to shake, he instead bowed, placing a kiss to her knuckles. When he spoke, it was with a distinct Kalosian accent.

"My name is Cole," he said. "Pleasure."

His voice was rich and as handsome as he was, making Lisia blush slightly, momentarily speechless. Cole didn't smile, his expression very serious, almost grave, but there was an unquestionable warmth coming from him. Lisia snapped back to reality, smiling brightly at him.

"The pleasure all mine!"

Nitzel rolled her eyes, turning her back on them and folding her arms. Cole glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, a small frowm crossing his face. he took off his glasses, cleaning them on a bright orange handkerchief.

"So what's Hoenn like?" Cole asked. "Apart from having, as I've heard, 'too much water'."

Lisia gave a tinkling laugh. "Well, it is a chain of islands in the tropics. It's rather hotter there, but that might be because of Mt Chimney."

"Mt Chimney?"

"An active volcano," Nitzel said, still with her back to them.

"Yes, that's right," Lisia said warmly. "It does send ashes across the region, which is a problem, but the soil in the area is incredibly fertile and can be fashioned into glass. Hoenn has a lot of different climates."

"That's rather different than Kanto," Cole said. "What you saw when you arrived is all you get."

"Tch," Nitzel shifted her weight from one foot to the other, turning around. "What would you know, Cole? You haven't lived here your entire life."

Cole blinked. "All but three years."

"You!" Nitzel rounded on Lisia now, holding up a Pokeball. "I want a battle."

"What?"

It was Cole's turn to roll his eyes. "Don't mind her, she gets like this."

Nitzel threw him a dirty look. "You can fight alongside her if you want, Cole. I can take you both."

Cole's orange eyes narrowed, the first show of emotion thus far. "Fine."

"Oh, um... no," Lisia held up her hands, backing away. "I don't want to fight."

She had not expected that she'd inadvertently offend them both. Cole explained, rather calmly, that to reject a fight was outright disrespectful in Kanto. Trainers had to accept any and all challenges. Lisia bit her lip.

"I have no right to reject, knowing I'll be defeated and watch Ali get beaten?"

"You have no faith in him? You have no right to call yourself a Pokemon trainer, let alone a contest coordinator," Cole said flatly. "Hoenn must have low standards if you are the top coordinator."

Lisia looked and felt as if she'd been slapped across the face. She gave a small shake, turning her back on them, stroking Ali's beak and choosing not to answer. It wasn't Ali she didn't have faith in, it was herself. She didn't think she could fight and not get Ali hurt.

"I don't think battling is all there is to Pokemon," she said. "I love that contests let a Pokemon show its true beauty without needing to resort to attacking another Pokemon."

"That might be how it is in Hoenn, but that's not how it works in Kanto," Cole said. "Excuse us."

He and Nitzel left. Brendan crossed over to her, looking worried.

"What's wrong?"

Lisia opened her mouth to tell him, then closed it before smiling. "It's nothing."

He pulled her into a warm embrace, sending a brilliant blush across Lisia's cheeks that had nothing to do with the usual excitement, energy, and warmth of the contest hall. Lisia took a moment to respond to the hug, closing her eyes and burying her face in his shoulder. Brendan never hugged her. Not that he wasn't the hugging type, he was affectionate with his Pokemon, but he'd never hugged her before. Brendan smelled faintly of the sea from their trip, and his body felt warmer than anyone else's she'd hugged, but that, she supposed, was less fact and more imagination. She just hoped he couldn't hear her heart racing at the contact or feel how hot her face was.

"You know, you're a bad lair," he murmured. "What did they say to you?"

"It's nothing," she said, resting her chin on his shoulder. "It's nothing to worry about."

Brendan only sighed, giving her a slight squeeze and releasing her. "If you decide you want to talk about it, I'm all ears."


	7. Chapter 7

May woke what seemed like partway through the night to loud wind. Two of the other trainers were fast asleep. Red was nowhere to be found, and one of the female trainers was situated in the window sill, a pink, birdlike Pokemon resting on her knee. She looked vaguely familiar to May, but honestly, May had met so many trainers she was surprised she didn't get that feeling more often. The trainer didn't look up when May got up to look outside. The rain had let up, but now sky was dark as it was over Lilycove, aggressive wind whipping at the trees. Everything was very, very dark.

"Did the power go out?"

"A-yup," the trainer said with a faint Kalosian accent. "And you wouldn't know it, but it's actually midmorning."

"It is?!"

"Yup, but even I've never seen weather like this, and where I'm from, storms are nothing if not common. Then again, we usually have rain... Your friend is downstairs, by the way. He took your Pokemon with him so they can eat with his."

"Thanks," May picked up her bag, securing it around her middle as she went downstairs. Red was leaning back in his seat, listening to the rain behind his head. His hat was on the table in front of him, his damp, sun-streaked dark hair falling lazily in his eyes. He looked very tired

"Good morning," May sat down in the seat beside him after picking up Red's Pikachu, setting it in her lap. Red cracked open an eye and turned in his chair to look at her. He smiled gently, wiggling his fingers in greeting, and went back to relaxing. A Chansey brought him a steaming cup of coffee, which Red took with a warm smile and a nod of gratitude.

They decided to leave the city within the hour- the centre was still packed, and there was no point staying in it. They chose to visit Mr Stone to see where Steven was, only to get a letter needing posted to Steven instead and told he was in Rustboro with Roxanne.

"I guess we should go to Petalburg, then Rustboro, then it's backtracking to go to see Brawly?" May asked.

Red nodded, and they headed out into the storm. Lightning forked the skies, followed by a clap of thunder so loud, May felt it reverberate inside her chest. Red sent out an Altaria, which calmed the weather around them in a little bubble, allowing them to walk safely out of the town and along the boardwalk to the Petalburg Woods.

Petalburg Woods was in ruin. Tree branches were scattered everywhere, and a few full trees had been blown down. A large hawthorn tree had fallen down across the pathway, blocking the woods off from Slateport. A young Bug Catcher and his Ninjask were attempting to get through the blockage, Ninjask using Fury Cutter like its life depended on it. Red's Altaria hummed, calling attention to them.

"Do you live in Petalburg?" May asked kindly.

The boy nodded.

May turned to Red, but he'd already approached the Bug Catcher and knelt to his level. The boy put on a determined face, even though his nose was still runny and his eyes full of tears.

"I can't go home."

Red reached into an inner pocket and handed the child a tissue from a plastic packet. May watched him interact with the child, all without a word from Red himself. Red let the child climb onto his back, walking back over to May.

"I don't know if we can go around," May said. "Breaking through might be hard with all those branches, but worth a try. Eris! Britain!"

Britain and Eris were not prepared for the wind at first. Eris had to turn herself slightly, her flower collar putting up wind resistance. She looked extremely miffed.

"Britain, use Dual Chop on the fallen tree! Eris, use Psychic to move the logs out of the path!"

Red watched with interest while May's Pokemon worked. It didn't take long for Britain and Eris to clear part of the path, though hacking through the hawthorn's many branches made it difficult. May scratched Britain's chin while Eris shifted the branches out of the way. Britain closed his eyes lazily, enjoying the attention, before allowing himself to be returned to his Pokeball. Once done, Eris, too, allowed herself to receive attention from her Trainer before returning to the safety of her Pokeball.

"That was really cool," the little boy said, peering at May over Red's shoulder. "You could beat the Champion, I bet."

May blushed. "Well, that would be hard for me..."

"No way! You're cool."

"I already am the Champion," May told him.

Red looked at her with interest now, too. The boy's eye widened. "You are!?"

"Yes," May showed him her trainer card, unique in the foil Champion's symbol in the bottom right corner by her picture. She tucked it back in her badge case.

"Wow!" the boy's distress seemed all but forgotten. "I got rescued by the Champion!"

May led the way through the woods, putting Pokemon to sleep using Red's Blissey, who cheerfully followed her commands. Outside the woods, the winds were strong. The storm seemed to have moved over to Petalburg. Red dug his heels into the ground to avoid toppling over with the bug catcher on his back.

"James? James!" the voice was close, but being drowned out by the wind shaking the trees above them. "James!"

The boy on Red's back looked around. "Haley?"

Haley didn't seem able to hear him. Red set the boy down so he could access his Pokeballs easier, sending out his Pikachu. There was a pause, and then the girl's voice rang out again. Pikachu's ears twitched as it searched for the source of the sound, bounding off. Red caught May's arm as she made to chase it, shaking his head slightly and using only his dark eyes to indicate the boy standing with them, who Red had a hold on to prevent him running off. Not long later, Pikachu returned, a lass in tow.

"Pi! Pika pi! Pika!' Pikachu was pointing at them, communicating to the girl.

"I- James!" Red let go of the boy, who rushed towards his sister. "James, are you okay!?"

"I'm fine, Haley. I even got saved by the Champion and her friend!" James pointed to May and Red.

"I'm glad you're all right..." she sighed. She looked up at Red and May. "Thank you for helping my brother. Here, you can take these as thanks. They're not much, I don't even know what they are, but I want you to have them."

She handed Red and May each a stone, taking her brother by the hand and sending out a Ludicolo. "Lead the way, Marina."

The aggressive wind picked up again and May stumbled to the side as she attempted to keep her balance. Red moved to protect her, his arms around her shoulders in a supportive embrace. May blushed faintly, adjusting her stance to help support Red in turn. The gust of wind calmed and Red let go. May led the way down the road to Petalburg, though the two of them were blown about into a small house by the dock. May took Red by the hand and knocked on Mr Briney's door.

"Ah, Miss May," he greeted her warmly. "Or should I call you Champion May? Come in."

May sat down on a floor cushion, Red following suot beside her. For the first time since she met him, he looked very drained.

"Sorry to impose, Mr Briney."

"Not at all," he said, setting a hot cup of tea in front of her. "You're welcome to visit any time, my child. Now, who is your friend?"

"This is Red," May said. "He's from Kanto."

"Kanto, hm? Long way from home."

Red nodded, nonverbally thanking Mr Briney for the tea. He took his hat off, setting it beside him on the floor.

"The two of you are welcome to stay if you'd like," Mr Briney told them. "I've never seen a storm like this in all my years at sea."

"Oh, no, we wouldn't want to impose," May said. "I need to be getting to the source of the storm soon."

Red glanced at her.

"I insist. At least for the night. Peeko would love to have you, and your friend looks exhausted."

May looked at Red. She gave a small sigh. "Okay. Thank you, Mr Briney, for your hospitality."

"Not at all, my dear," he said, standing up and walking off to get blankets and mats for them.

I should clarify that I don't abide by a real timeline- ORAS here is set about 10 years after Red/Blue/Green, so near the time of the Sun and Moon games. Making Red around 21 here. Also, I've always hated to do this, but please, review. Reviews are what make me want to keep on writing. Granted this one I have a lot of backlogged chapters I just forgot to post, but I like getting feedback.


	8. Chapter 8

Lisia sat up on the balcony of her hotel room, looking out at the stars. Her long, celadon green hair was down and still damp from her shower. She was still wearing her sky blue bathrobe. What Cole and Nitzel had said to her was still on her mind, hours later. Neither of them talked to her after that unless they had to but maintained a cordial tone. Ethernet didn't seem aware of Lissa's opinion on battle, or just didn't care, and nobody had told Brendan anything. He asked Lisia about it again, but she refused to tell him. Brendan, too, was of the opinion she needed to learn to battle. But he wanted her to learn for her own safety. For Ali's.

"Liss?"

Lisia sighed, not hearing her name being called. She was going to hold her ground. She would show those from Kanto that battling did not have to be the way. Her intention wasn't to totally erase battle, but to stop its presence in Contests. Battles had no business in Contests. They had hundreds of other events for showing off with battles, including the Pokemon League itself. Contests were not a place for battle.

Lisia rested her chin in her hand. People here could behave rudely, no matter what they had seemed at first, if Pokemon battles were questioned. She didn't think she'd been rude to them when telling them she didn't like battling. If anything, their rudeness had made her not even want to consider Brendan's offer, but prove she was well in the right.

"Lisia!"

She looked around. Brendan was on his own balcony. His wet hair was slicked back from his face and he was wearing his pyjama shirt and hotel bathrobe open. He looked rather concerned.

"Lisia, what's bothering you?"

"Nothing, Brendan."

"Liss, you're a really bad liar," he said. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Brendan rested his arms on the balcony. "I see... I'm here if you need me."

Lisia was of half a mind to climb onto the edge of her balcony and step over to his, but decided against it. She stroked Ali's neck, avoiding Brendan's eyes. If she looked at him, she'd tell him what happened, and she didn't really want to know what he'd say or do. She didn't want him talking her down from her intentions.

"Stars are beautiful tonight. You can even see Ciela tonight. I've only ever seen it in books."

"What's Ciela?"

"Ciela is the constellation around the nebula up there," he pointed.

"No, no," she looked at him briefly. "What is Ciela named for?"

"Ciela is an Altaria from Hoenn lore," he said. "She was, according to stories, a very small Altaria who gave her life to protect Hoenn from a meteor shower that came right at us. She was immortalised in the sky, they said. The constellation is usually impossible to see above cities."

"Oh..." she smiled. "I see. Do you know any other constellations?"

"Only a few. Like over there, you can see Cinis."

"What's...?"

"It's a star in the constellation Tonitrua," he said. "It's a Pikachu. See that really, really bright star? That's the electric pouch on Pikachu's cheek."

"Oh!" Lisia's eyes widened. "I see it! There's the ears, and the tail!

He pointed out the nearby constellation of a Gardevoir, and named off a few stars, then silence fell between them. Lisia gazed at him, feeling calmer. Brendan, however, was looking at the street below, where some trainers were out late. Their voices carried up, but Lisia wasn't really listening to them.

"They're gonna battle!" Brendan sounded excited. "I wonder what they have?"

Lisia spared them a glance at the unfamiliar cry of a Pokemon. The other trainer, a tall, handsome man with reddish hair, merely smiled, sending out a Machamp against the woman's Pokemon. Brendan scrambled for his book, immediately starting to sketch. Lisia gave a small sigh, returning to her room. She wouldn't get anything out of Brendan again for a while if he was busy watching the fight. Ali snuggled at the foot of her bed, humming in contentment. Lisia, however, sat at the small table in her room and wrote in her diary, listening to the fight outside. When she finished, she locked it tight and put it away in her purse. Lisia crossed to the glass sliding door to the balcony, sliding it shut and locking it, blocking out the sounds of the battle.

Outside, Brendan was watching the battle. Or rather, watching the Pokemon and listening intently for the attacks just in case he couldn't identify it on sight. The woman's Haunter was easily dispatched through the Machop's powerful Knock-Off, the Haunter's Life Orb clattering to the ground and rolling away. The man scooped it up and tossed it back to his opponent, who caught it deftly in one hand, sending out her second Pokemon with the other. It was a red insectoid Pokemon, and Brendan hastily turned a page in his journal to draw it. The man below gave a small smile, switching his Pokemon to Exeggutor. This caught the woman off-guard, but she tensed, murmuring something to her Pokemon.

Brendan intently studied their Pokemon, making notes as they fought. There was little question the man was the more skilled trainer, but she was hardly bad herself. Their battle ended abruptly, though, when the man turned suddenly to look behind him. The woman followed his gaze, but a building blocked Brendan's line of sight. The pair of them bolted off towards it, the man riding on the back of his Arcanine. Brendan was interested in what was happening, but instead went back to his room. He ought not to get involved.

Brendan woke earlier than he would have liked, but couldn't place why. He sat up, looking around his still-dark room. It seemed to be barely dawn. Yawning, Brendan got out of bed, and it was a moment before he noticed Sun Striker was standing quietly outside of his ball, looking outside through the gap between the curtains and the wall.

"Morning, Sunny... What's up?" Brendan pulled the curtain back to look outside. "Oh!"

A thick layer of snow blanketed the entire city and was still falling, despite it being summertime. Brendan looked up at Sun Striker, whose expression was as hard to read as it always was.

"Sunny, how long has this been going on for?"

Sunny couldn't answer him, but cocked his head to the side towards his PokeNav. Brendan sat down and opened it, switching to the BuzzNav function. After a moment of static, it connected to KNN, the Kanto News Network. Brendan watched part of a news story about a tower in Lavender Town burning down before they talked about the storm, reaching out to a reporter in Vermillion City.

"As you can see, more than two feet of snow has already fallen over Vermillion City," he said. "And it is still coming down. Now, if you follow me to the docks, you can see that more than two miles of ocean is frozen solid. Many people have already decided to make the best of it, and someone had their Magmar smooth out the ice so people could go skating."

The reporter walked along the dock, the camera following to show people playing in the snow, but Brendan's eyes were drawn to the sky. Something sparkled among the clouds, but it was gone in a moment. Brendan ran to the sliding door and outside to see if he could see whatever it was. He searched the sky frantically, before his eyes alighted on something glittering to the west. He sketched what he saw, glancing only briefly down at his sketchbook. The Pokemon he drew was beautiful. It had pale blue and white plumage, making it hard to see against the white-grey clouds. It flew straight overhead, giving Brendan a good look at it's features and long, fanning tailfeathers. It soared straight into the clouds. It all happened very quickly, but Brendan had a good sketch of it down. He wasn't even sure he'd seen it.

Beside the picture, Brendan wrote sparce notes about the Pokemon. There wasn't much to write about, aside from what it looked like and the way it flew. Brendan pulled his DexNav close, opening up his National Pokedex. He tapped his stylus on the concrete balcony before looking up all Pokemon that were blue in colour. He could say for sure the Pokemon was blue, but could not be positive it was Flying merely because it could fly. Hoenn was home to many fliers that weren't Flying types- Dustox, Vibrava and Flygon, both Latias and Latios, and Kyogre, if memory served. Ali's Mega form was Fairy and Dragon, yet could fly. Logically, he needed to look it up by colour. He turned to walk back into his room, bouncing off the glass door.

Brendan didn't even realise he was cold until he went back into his hotel room. Sun Striker was standing where he'd been standing when Brendan woke up. Brendan hugged him, burying his face into Sunny's warm feathers. Sun Striker patted Brendan awkwardly on the head before returning to his Pokeball.

"Aww... But you're so warm, Sunny," Brendan said, picking up the Pokeball.

Brendan stretched, looking at his bedside clock before crawling back into bed for another two hours, still searching his Pokedex.


End file.
